Floor covering



W H. FRAZIER AND W. J. ONE ILL.

FLOOR COVERING. APPLICATION FILED SEPT 15:1919.

1,425,847, Patented Aug. 15,1922

m 1W m IHIHIHIHML sraras errear WILLIAM E. rename, or onicaeo, AND WILLIAM .Iosnrn c nema, or nownaas eaova, ILLIIIoIs.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Pgte t d Amiga 15 1922 Application filed September 15, 1919. Serial No. 323,915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. FRAZ-IER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago. in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, and WILLIAM JosEPH ONEILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Downers Grove, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floor Coverings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide, as a new article of manufacture, a composition floor covering in the form of units which can be produced at relatively low cost, in any sizes and shapes, and laid quickly Without especial skill.

A further and very important object of this invention-is to provide a sectional floor covering which will require no close union at the joints between the units, which can be used immediately after it is laid, and

which will wear in or work in quickly at the joints and edges to form an unbroken and homogeneous covering for the floor.

And a further object is to provide a floor covering in the form of units which may be diiierently colored or composed of a plurality of differently colored parts to form attractive designs, which is soft and yielding as distinguished from hard and rigid and which forms a waterproof covering having exceptional wear resisting qualities.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated one wayin which the invention may be satisfactorily used and referring thereto- Fig. 1 illustrates a black unit; and

Fig. 2 a red unit;

Figs. 3 and 4 show the units of Figs. 1 and 2 cut out in making a design;

Fig. 5 shows the red cut-outs positioned in the openings of the black unit; and

Fig. 6 shows the black cut-outs in the openings of the red unit thus forming color designs;

Fig. 7 is a plan view ofa floor covering made with our improved units;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of Fig. 7

Fig. 9 is a view similar toFi'g. 8 showing the appearance of the joints after they have been worn in.

Our improved floor covering composition consists essentially of what may be generally termed a fibrous material, a binder and such coloring matter and drier as may be found desirable. We prefer to use asbestos fibre which forms a very satisfactory basic material, with an asphaltum binder such as elaterite, but we may use wood flour or other suitable material as a base, and some other form of asphaltumsuch as gilsonite. An suitable coloring matter and drier may be used and in such quantities as will be required. In practice we may use about 60% of the basic'material, 20% of asphaltum, and 20% of coloring matter and dr er. These materials are thoroughly mixed and heated and poured or spread upon a suitable backing which may be wire mesh, fabric such as burlap, or felt or other paper. The mixture may be applied to the backing by pouring it thereon, or spreadng it thereon, or by successive cuts to obtain the desired thickness. Having formed the material in the manner described or in any other suitable manner, in sheets of convenient size, we prefer to run the sheets through rollers or through a suitable press to make them of a standard uniform thickness.

By employing a combination of differently colored parts attractive designs may be embodied in the units, and in the draw ings we have illustrated one way in which I this may be accomplished. The black unit 9 and the red unit 10 may be out to provide openings 11, 12 and the cut-outs 13 of the black unit may be used as inserts to fill the openings 12 of the red unit, and the cutouts 14 of the red unit maybe'used as inserts to fill the openings 11 of the black unit. Of course, units in solid colors may beused as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 if desired. and it is also apparent that these units may be made in any shape or size and in any combinations of colors that may be desired.

The operation of covering a floor with our improved composition units is very simple and is easily and quickly accomplished. The floor 15 should first be cleaned as a? to remove the dirt and dust therefromhand be used immediately after the coverin is then the brush or other coat of a suitable bond material is applied to the surface and allowed to dry. We prefer to use as a bond material the composition of which the floor covering is made when properly thinned with a suitable solvent. Thenthe units are laid flat upon the bonded surface of the floor with the edges of. the units abutting as closely as possible, to produce a finished and workmanlike job, but it is not necessary to make a perfect square fit of one unit against another, such as might be obtained by perfectly squaring the edges of the units, because in actual use the abutting edges of the units will wear or worlr in, that is to say, they will press together and form, to all intents and purposes, a union of the units at the joints and a homogeneous floor covering. When the floor is thus covered with the units sufficient pressure is applied in any suitable manner, as by a weighted roller, or a mallet, or a temp, to seat each unit properly and firmly in place, and it will be found that the units will wear in or work in with the bond coat and form a complete union there.

The composition herein described, and particularly when it is made of elaterite, an asbestos fibre, is especially valuable as a floor covering because it is soft and yielding, waterproof, and has great wear resisting qualities. We have discovered that this material is especially valuable for a floor covering composed of a plurality of units, and each unit of which may itself be composed of a plurality of separate parts. The asphaltum has a great aiiinity for itself and when two units are laid edge to edge they will, as we have heretofore experienced, it actually works in or wears in to form a complete union of the units at the joint. In other words, by reason of the considerable quantity of asphaltum used in the composition one unit will combine. with the other unit at their adjacent edges to form a homo-.

with-a lair degree of accuracy. The covering will work in or wear in at the joints under pressure and in actual use, more rapidly than outerwise but the asphaltum has such an affinity for itself that this action will take place regardless of pressure or service but not as rapidly. I h

A very valuable feature of our improved floor covering is the fact that the door can applied so that a job can be quickly one without putting the floor out of service for any material time. And since the units wear or work in quickly to form a complete union we are able with our invention to furnish a floor covering inunits of any colors or combinations of colors to a job, Whichcan be v laid quickly to provide a homogeneous continuous jointless coverin The absence of joints in a short time alter the covering is laid makes the covering much more serviceable than it the joints were preserved and prevents the covering from wearing or breaking down or chipping at the joints. And prevents surface dirt working under the floor covering.

Our invention provides a floor covering which can be produced in units and in quan- "tities at a centralized plant and at comparatively low cost and transported to a job and laid as a floor covering without occasioning any material loss of the use of the) floor. This is particularly important in the building industry because at the present time a week or ten days must elapse before a floor covering can be used and this not only causes a direct loss of time in the completion of a new building but it indirectly retards other work on the building and sometimes occasions greater loss in this way. @ur inven: tion saves this loss of time by enabling the floor covering to be used as soon as it is laid.

"We claim:

1. The method oi covering a floor which consists in applying a coat of suitable bond material, laying thereon a plurality of correspondingly shaped units in approximate edge to edge relation and applying pressure to the units to work' them into a continuous monolithic covering.

2. The method of covering a floor which consists in applying a bond coating to the floor, laying thereon a plurality of units in suitable shapes and sizes in approximate edge to edge relation and applying pressure to the units, the material forming the bond and the units being of such nature that it will unite all the units and form a continuous monolithic covering;

3. The herein-described method of covering a floor which consists in providing a Hill floor covering composed-bf a plurality of units of uniform size and shape adapted to be laid edge to edge, applying to the floor a bond coating of material thinned with a suitable solvent so that it can be conveniently applied with a brush and allowing said coatin'g todry, then laying the units edge to edge upon said dried coating and applying Suficient pressure to seat the units on the bond coating, the unit material and the bonding material being of such a nature andhaving such an ailinity for itself that the units will form a complete union with the bond coating and with each other and thus form a conof the pressure the units will work in at the tinuous homogeneous monolithic covering. joints and unite to form a continuous mono- 10 4. The method of coveringa fioor which lithic floor coverin consists of laying thereon a plurality of sep- WILLIA H. FRAZIER.

arate units arranged approximately in edge WILLIAM JOSEPH ONEILL. to edge relation and applying pressure to Witnesses:

the units, the material of which the units WM. 0.1312111,

are made being such that under the action M. A. Knmm. 

